It's Alive (1974) by Larry Cohen

Director: Larry Cohen

Year: 1974

Country: USA

Alternate Titles: Baby Killer

Genre: Evil Kids

Plot:

Heading off to the hospital, a pregnant woman about to give birth is horrified when the ravenous, bloodthirsty mutant that was born runs wild and escapes into the city, forcing the team tracking it down to realize where it's going and try to stop its mission.

Review:

For the most part, this one was a rather tough one to get through. When this one works, it's mainly due to the rather fun idea of the killer mutant infant running around doing the killing. The celebrated birth sequence, where the off-screen birth coincides with the scream and then rushing in to find the trail of destruction and bloodied bodies as it escaped earlier, makes for a rather startling and horrifying introduction during the time of a person's life when they should be exceptionally happy. That, in turn, leads to the main fun to be had with this one, where it features the series of attacks committed by the creature around the neighborhood, from the short attacks on the lone woman in front of her car and the delivery person on the streets. As well, the finale, where it arrives back at the house and engages in the confrontation with the family there, before the stellar series of encounters in the sewer system where the group tracking it finds the creature in the area, which is quite chilling to add some decent enough action to the proceedings. As well as the fine makeup designed for the mutant babies, these here hold it up over its few flaws.

The biggest threat to the film overall is the bland, disjointed pacing that crops up where this one just becomes dull after a while. The fact that it starts off rather strong with the hospital attack, but then after that we have nothing until the final half of the film, which is punctuated only with dry, dull scenes of the investigation going through the city trying to find the cause of the strange accident at the hospital before tying it into the rampage around the city. That leaves the film incredibly dull, with very little interest or action in what's happening during this investigation, as that holds this to a strict tempo, which isn't all that exciting to see play out. The other flaw to be found here is the exceptionally dull issue of the lack of explanation for how the creatures appear and what they're intending to do once they're loose, as this one never gives any kind of rationale about their sudden appearance, which doesn't make any sense here. These are what hold this one back overall.

Overview: **/5

Really bland and not that impressive of a killer kid film, there are some likable elements here that are enough to be worthwhile but are held down so heavily by its flaws that it's quite underwhelming overall. Those with an interest in this style or approach, or who are fans of the creative crew, will have the most to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.